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Happy Thanksgiving
Yesterday we gave our RAs a cultural experience by introducing them to the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving. We have our own staff & faculty Thanksgiving gathering the weekend after all of you back home in America are eating turkey and stuffing until the point of comatose with family and friends because it is hard for us to survive an entire year without a Thanksgiving of our own. Still, students only get the chance to hear about this magnificent American tradition. This year we decided to show them how it is truly done. The other Neumann RD, Alexandra, and I came up with a menu that would display a variety of typical Thanksgiving dishes, which included turkey, stuffing, cheesy mashed potatoes (it must be an East coast thing because Alexandra is from New Jersey), gravy, cranberry sauce, broccoli, homemade bread with butter, deviled eggs, and of course, a pumpkin pie. The food was a success with everyone at the table, and I was happy to hear that the stereotype of American food looking like a fast food burger with fries was quickly being wiped out of their minds.
We began by gathering around the table to tell a brief history of the reason we have this holiday back home before we prayed and dove right into explanations of all the dishes present. The eating and conversation brought us to a jolly place of laughter and we paused before dessert to go around the table and share our thanks. I was not sure what to expect from this activity because around here it less common to be open about personal things in a large group such as ours. I was blown away. It was incredible to hear student's reflections about their thanks, starting from supportive family and friends to the multiple opportunities they have been given in life, remembering the gift of being able to wake up each morning and walk around on 2 working legs, and for the challenges and hardships during this past year that are part of the beauty of life as they look back on the growth that came from those times. Many of the RAs mentioned the life changes that have happened and are happening at this place that brings all of together, this place we call LCC International University. It was a blessed time together to practice the state of thankfulness.
Prior to eating the delicious pumpkin pies with whipping cream, we had a wishbone war. That is something that all the cousins look forward to around our extended family's Thanksgiving, so of course we had to include this silly tradition, with Roman (one of the RAs on my staff last year) coming out with a victory. I hope he had a good wish! Then we settled in to the couches to conclude the evening by watching the classic It's a Wonderful Life. Afterward, we were half expecting the snow to start falling and Christmas melodies to start playing as we cleaned up the kitchen and went home. We will be thinking of you with thanks in our hearts as you are celebrating this wonderful tradition together this week.
We began by gathering around the table to tell a brief history of the reason we have this holiday back home before we prayed and dove right into explanations of all the dishes present. The eating and conversation brought us to a jolly place of laughter and we paused before dessert to go around the table and share our thanks. I was not sure what to expect from this activity because around here it less common to be open about personal things in a large group such as ours. I was blown away. It was incredible to hear student's reflections about their thanks, starting from supportive family and friends to the multiple opportunities they have been given in life, remembering the gift of being able to wake up each morning and walk around on 2 working legs, and for the challenges and hardships during this past year that are part of the beauty of life as they look back on the growth that came from those times. Many of the RAs mentioned the life changes that have happened and are happening at this place that brings all of together, this place we call LCC International University. It was a blessed time together to practice the state of thankfulness.
Prior to eating the delicious pumpkin pies with whipping cream, we had a wishbone war. That is something that all the cousins look forward to around our extended family's Thanksgiving, so of course we had to include this silly tradition, with Roman (one of the RAs on my staff last year) coming out with a victory. I hope he had a good wish! Then we settled in to the couches to conclude the evening by watching the classic It's a Wonderful Life. Afterward, we were half expecting the snow to start falling and Christmas melodies to start playing as we cleaned up the kitchen and went home. We will be thinking of you with thanks in our hearts as you are celebrating this wonderful tradition together this week.
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